Characterization of Adhesive Bonding Using Leaky Lamb Waves

Abstract

The performance of adhesive bonds in primary structures strongly depends on the quality of adhesion. Many NDE methods are presently used to detect unbonded areas; however, these methods cannot be used to determine bond properties. In standard ultrasonic techniques, the velocity of bulk wave propagation through the specimen is measured by time-offlight. Unfortunately, the waves reflected from the bonded region cannot be easily identified or analyzed to determine the properties of the adhesive layer.